Several methods are known in the art for manufacturing low-fat fresh cheese and in the last decennia an ultra-filtration step for concentrating the cheese milk is usually applied, like the one described in Deutsche Milchwirtschaft 35 1790-1795 (1984) and 36 1034 1036-41 (1985). In practice the structure and rheology of the products are not quite satisfactory and cannot be fully remedied by adding fat or cream after the ultrafiltration step. Additionally attempts have been made to improve the rheology by the addition of binding or structuring agents, e.g. non dairy products such as gelatin, carrageenan, starches, as well as additional whey protein. In practice this resulted in organoleptic deterioration and/or an increase in ingredients to be declared.
It is an object of the invention to provide a low fat fresh cheese product having a spreadable character without using non-dairy binders or structuring agents or added whey protein. Of course this does not exclude the later addition of flavourants, herbs, spices, fruits, nuts, etc.
Another object of the invention is providing a simple process for manufacturing such a fresh cheese product. In this description and claims "low-fat" is used for 0-10 and preferably 0-7% wt. fat, calculated on total weight.